Not upheld: failed ATM transaction / service deficiency complaint against THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained that RBS failed to dispense £200 from an ATM withdrawal on 10 December 2025, though the amount debited his account. RBS refunded the £200 and paid £300 compensation. Mr S sought additional compensation, claiming the failed withdrawal led to a taxi driver attacking him, him being stranded overnight, and ultimately losing his job. The ombudsman found that RBS correctly refunded the transaction and that the £300 compensation was fair and reasonable for the immediate distress caused, but held that RBS could not be held responsible for the unforeseeable actions of third parties (the taxi driver and employer) that followed the ATM failure.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, it is the payment service provider's responsibility to prove a transaction was correctly executed. RBS accepted the withdrawal failed and refunded the £200, which is the appropriate remedy for the transaction error itself. However, the ombudsman found that while RBS is responsible for the immediate distress and inconvenience of the failed withdrawal, the subsequent events (taxi driver's attack and job loss) were actions by third parties that were not reasonably foreseeable consequences of the ATM failure. Therefore, RBS cannot fairly be held responsible for those outcomes.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website